"COMING MESSIAH"
Isaiah 7:1 - 9:7
Posted December 23, 2000
Charles Dickens once wrote, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." In this great novel, Dickens was talking about two completely different cities who were experiencing different destinies. This great line has been quoted, misquoted, and abused for many years by people who have never really thought about what it means. In recent days, I have thought about this and come to the conclusion that Dickens knew that the different destinies of these cities was the result of the actions of the inhabitants.
Mankind has long believed in the idea of fate controlling destiny. Most of our ancestors took this to the extreme and even believed that in every aspect, God controlled their life. God does have all power, but He never intended his creation to be mere puppets or robots.
In the beginning, God created man. This was the ultimate, crowning glory of all creation. God looked back on this man and he saw that he was good. He then made woman, and contrary to the belief of many, she was also good. But when you put these two naive adults together in a beautiful garden with a crafty serpent, pretty soon all of mankind needed a savior, a Messiah, an anointed by God deliverer. It is from the third chapter of Genesis that God has foreshadowed the Messiah, His son, the savior of the world.
This, in my opinion, is what Dickens was referring to. In every situation, there is the possibility of both "the best of times and the worst of times." The choice is in the hand of the one who chooses and makes the decision. It was the best of times in the Garden of Eden until Adam and Eve sinned. Then it became the worst of times for Adam and Eve, but through their sinful act the door for the greatest of all possible times was opened by Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that it was best that they sinned and broke off their relationship with God. What I mean is that God took the worst of times and made it into the best because greater love has never been shown than what has been shown through Jesus Christ as was prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
Many scholars and theologians say that the Messianic prophecies that we have in the Old Testament do not refer to Jesus. It is true that many kings of the Bible were referred to as Messiah, for they were also anointed by God. And perhaps to the people of Israel who were alive in the time of the Judges, Gideon, Deborah, and Samson were the anointed ones of God who brought salvation to them. The difference is that their brand of salvation was only temporary, for as you read the book of Judges, you find that only a few verses after salvation has come, the "Messiah" has died and the people have fallen back into their sinful nature.
This is what had happened in the days of Isaiah. Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of the Assyrians was moving through the near East. This mighty king boasted the most efficient fighting force the world had ever seen. Because of their ruthlessness, they have been called the "Nazis of the eight century B.C." It was common practice for them to conquer a city and then to ravish the women and kill the men and the children by throwing them off the tops of the walls. And now, in Isaiah's day, this horrible threat was knocking at the door of the nation of Judah. For years, the nation led a prosperous existence. It stood apart from all other nations because of its great accomplishments. But because of this, the nation was lulled into a false sense of security. They began to think that they were invincible and no longer needed a God who required such strict moral and ethical standards even though He was the reason that they were what they were. The nation of Judah became much like other nations. They oppressed the poor, justice was a joke, everyone wanted only wealth and power for themselves. They couldn't care less what God wanted. Right there in their own midst, this society carried the seeds of its own destruction. It was truly the worst of times.
Into this scene stepped King Ahaz, a weak and wicked leader. When he saw that the Northern Kingdom and Syria had plotted against him, he became fearful. So the Lord told Isaiah, "Take your son Shear-Jashub(a remnant will return), and meet Ahaz. Tell him not to be afraid of these two kings, Rezin and Pekah. They are like only two smouldering stubs of firewood. They cannot hurt you. They are all smoke and no fire. Tell him to believe only in me and everything will be okay." Then Isaiah gave Ahaz the chance of a lifetime. He said, "Ahaz, ask for a sign. You can have anything in the world." You see, he was offering Ahaz the best of times. But Ahaz refused. He refused to hear the man of God and to trust in God himself. He wanted to take care of this on his own. After all he was the great king of Judah. But Isaiah said to him, I will give you a sign anyway. When God wants his people to know something, he tells them whether they want to hear it or not. Is. 7:14-17. In this sign, Isaiah was referring to something that was about to happen. He probably did not realize that 700 years later Matthew would quote this verse and connect it with the birth of Jesus. But God knew this and he revealed His message to Matthew through this wonderful fact.
Ahaz was the classic wicked King. He refused to listen or to wait to see the sign that he was promised. He went to the king of Assyria, TiglathPileser III, who was only too glad to come to his assistance. Soon Syria and the Northern Kingdom were history, mere vassal states of the mighty Assyrian empire. But Judah was not much better. From that point on Ahaz was a puppet king and Judah an enslaved nation. With the fall of the Northern tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, there was grave darkness over the land of Judah. It was the worst of times, but into that darkness, Isaiah injected a promise of light with his prophecy found in 9:1-6. Here again was God offering the best of times to his people.
The people of Judah were walking in the land of darkness, the shadow of death. Tiglath-pileser was breathing down their necks, and in the midst of that Isaiah prophesies hope. A light, the very presence of God, had dawned for them. The people's anguish would be transformed into pure joy. With the final liberation from their enemies, the people would have unending joy that he compared with the joy that comes at the time of harvest and at the victory of a great battle. Their oppressors would be destroyed and Yahweh, their God would be victorious.
But the crowning glory would be that the people would be given their own king from the lineage of David. He would be characterized as the "Wonderful Counselor" or he who plans wonders, one who makes extraordinary resolves and then carries them out. He needs no other advice except Yahweh's. He will be called the "Mighty God" because of his abundance of power that makes it possible for him to carry out his decisions over his enemies. He will be the Everlasting Father which deals with his constant care for his people rather than his own continued existence. He will be the Prince of Peace, a phrase that stresses the rich harmonious life that his subjects will enjoy. Because of all that he is, this newly founded kingdom will remain unshaken because justice and righteousness is its support. This could be nothing but the best of times.
Many theologians say that this passage was referring to Hezekiah or other earthly kings because in many passages a king is said to have been begotten by Yahweh on the day of his coronation; but no king on earth much less in Israel has ever fulfilled this dynamic prophecy. Only one man has ever lived up to the high praise that Isaiah offered in this passage. Only one king could fill the bill, and he certainly was no earthly king. He was to be born in a stable in the small town of Bethlehem. He was never to own his own home nor was he wealthy. He was a poor man who many probably thought was a bum or a freeloader. Only Jesus Christ, the son of God, the true Messiah could ever deserve such high praise.
But you knew all of this. You did not need me to tell you that this passage of scripture was talking about the son of God. But there is something that many of you need to hear me say.
It is the best of times; it is the worst of times. Our situation today is very similar to that of Judah twenty six hundred years ago. Hanging over the heads of every person in this world is the threat of nuclear war. This past week, our president and the general secretary of the Soviet Union signed a treaty banning intermediate range nuclear weapons. This could be a positive step toward peace and nuclear disarmament, but many competent authorities are now saying that nuclear war is probable and grows more probable everyday. Even if these nuclear warheads are destroyed, the combined nuclear arsenal of the U.S. and the Soviet Union are enough to destroy our world many times over. Along with that, most of us believe that only the President could launch a nuclear attack. That is not true. In 1977, almost 5000 people were removed from access to nuclear weapons management positions for problems with alcohol, drugs, and personality disorders. Along with that, it was reported two weeks that a small European country whose name escapes me now has in its possession a small nuclear arsenal. It is very possible that these other nations could begin a nuclear war that could destroy us all. This could be the worst of times.
But my friend, I want to tell you today that nuclear war does not worry me. For like Isaiah said, Our God will take care of it. But even more than what Isaiah has said, we know of the wonderful counselor who was born and who has borne all of our sin and our shame. We have read of his mighty works and we have seen his wonderful saving acts. Just as God brought Israel through all of the trials and tribulations that they went through, so too will he bring his bride, the church through this situation.
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